Spring-filled mattress



R. O. GARRIGUS SPRING-FILLED MATTRESS April 5, 1949.

Filed Dec. 3, 1946 Patented Apr. 5, 1949 SPRING-FILLED MATTRESS Robert 0. Garrigus, West Palm Beach, Fla., assignor of forty-nine per cent to William Harp Application December 3, 1946, Serial No. 713,688

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to the manufacture of inner-spring mattresses.

An object of the invention is to provide an inner-spring mattress having tufts or buttons which are so arranged and secured within the mattress as to not be readily loosened therefrom.

Another object of my invention is to provide an inner-spring mattress comprising upper and lower padding units affixed to the upper and lower faces of an inner-spring unit, each padding unit having an outer fabric covering which is stretched prior to tufting and is maintained in stretched position during tufting.

A further object of my invention is to provide an inner-spring mattress in which the tufting I twine does not extend through the spring unit itself, with the result that the twine holding the tufts is not continuously subjected to wearing action by the springs.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an inner-spring mattress in which the coverin material will have a smooth finish between tufts, and in which the cover will not stretch out of shape, the mattress being further characterized by simplicity of construction and durabilityinwear.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of an innerspring mattress constructed according to my invention, with one corner thereof opened out to show the interior construction.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the padding units employed in the construction of the mattress during assembly thereof.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the completed mattress.

Figure 4 is an elevational view of a corner of the mattress with a portion thereof opened out to permit inspection of the interior construction thereof.

In the construction of inner-spring mattresses, it has long been a problem to successfully tuft or button a spring mattress so that the tufts or buttons would not come loose. My solution of this and similar problems which have confronted the manufacturers of inner-spring mattresses will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters denote similar parts throughout all the views.

As shown, there are a number of mattress springs 2, which are secured together by resilient stays 4, or in any other suitable manner, to form a spring unit 6. Upper and lower padding units 8 and I0, respectively, are secured to the upper and lower surfaces of the spring unit 6, as best seen in Figure 3. The padding units 8 and III are similar in construction, and their assembly is best illustrated by reference to Figure 2.

A fabric outer covering [2 made of ticking or other durable suitable material is made up with a four to six-inch wide strip of cloth sewed around its edge. The cover I2 is then placed upon a table with the inside of the cover uppermost. The table used should be the size and shape of the spring unit, A layer of felt H, smaller in area than that ofthe fabric outer covering I2, is next placed upon the covering l2. A sisal layer I6 is then placed upon the felt layer It. An inner layer of muslin or burlap I8 is then placed upon the sisal layer l6.

It will be observed that the layers I 4, l6 and I8 are all of the same area, whereas the layer l2, which is the fabric outer covering, has a greater area, thus permitting it to overlap the edges of the other layers to some extent.

The stretching frame 22 is then placed upon the upper-fabric layer l8 in the position shown in Figure 2. The frame 22 is formed of four side members 24 made of relatively stiff material, which are joined together at their ends to form a rectangular frame, the outer edges 26 of which overlie the corresponding edges of the layers I, I6 and I8. Short pins or spikes 28 protrude inwardly from the inner edges 30 of the frame mem ers 24.

The strip of cloth sewed to the outer cover I2 is' then pulled up and over the stretching frame 22 and fastened to the protruding spikes 28 all around the frame, as shown, the cover 12 being thus stretched tightly over the frame and the filling layers, and securely held by the spikes. The frame 22 with the cover and filling attached thereto is then taken from the table, turned over, and the thus assembled padding unit is buttoned or tufted while stretched over the frame. The twine or cord 32 extends through the layers l2, l4, l6 and I8, as seen best in Figure 3, with inner and outer buttons or tufs 34 and 36 secured to the inner and outer ends of the tufting twine.

After tufting, the tufted upper padding unit is removed from the stretching frame and placed upon the upper surface of the spring unit 6, the burlap and sisal layers being fastened to the edges of the spring unit all around. Then the fabric covering material,

upon said outer covering material, placing a-layer of sisalupon said felt layer, placing an inner fabstrip of cloth on the edge of the outer cover I2 is fastened to the burlap layer ll with staples or other suitable means. The lower padding unit is also secured to the lower surface of the spring unit in the same fashion, and then the boxing is sewn to the panel on a tape edge machine, as is done on all prebuilt mattresses. 1

The tight stretching of the outer covers I! before and during tufting is of considerable im-.

portance, inasmuch as the filling material is given a degree of compression thereby and the mattress.

surface becomes smooth, particularly in the areas between adjacent tufts and remains smooth while in use. The filling and cover are not fastened to the spring unit except around the edges, and the filling is not pulled into the spring inside its marginal edges, as is the case with many prior art mattresses.

The tufting twine 32 does not extend through the spring unit 6 at all, and hence is not subjected to the constant wearing action which normally results from contact with the springs. When the twine 32 extends through the spring unit, as in prior art mattresses, it has'been found that the twine wears out rapidly, allowingthe tufts or buttons to pull out, and shortening the life of the? mattress. The present construction avoids this difficulty.

This assembly can also be used mattresses where foam rubber is employed instead of spring units, the method being otherwise the same.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention in specific terms,.it is to be understood that various changes maybe made in shape, materials and arrangement without on foam rubber 1 of four side members secured together along their departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

- L'The process of constructing a padding unitj for attachment to a mattress spring unit, com- 1 prising placing a layer of outer fabric covering 1 material upon a fiat surface, stitching a strip of 1 fabric around the marginal edges of saidouter ric layer upon said sisal layer, placing a stretching frame upon said inner fabric layer with their outer edges in registry, said stretching frame being formed of four side members secured together along their ends to form a substantially rectangular frame with spikes protruding inwardly of the frame from the inner side edges of said side members, pulling up the marginal strip on said outer cover layer over the said frame and ena gaging the strip upon said spikes, whereby the outer cover is tightly stretched over the filling and the frame, tufting said padding unit while maintaining the outer cover stretched, and then removing said frame from the padding unit.

placing a layer offelt 2. The process of constructing a padding unit for attachment to a mattress spring unit comprising placing a layer of fabric covering upon a ends to form a substantially rectangular frame with spikes protruding inwardly of the frame 'from'the inner side edges of said side members, pulling up the marginal strip of said fabric covering layer over said frame and engaging the strip upon said spikes whereby the outer cover is tightly stretched over the layers of filling material and the frame, tufting'the assembled layers while maintaining the fabric covering layer stretched, and removing the frame from the tufted layers.

3. .The process for constructing a padding unit for attachment to a mattres spring unit comprising placing a layer of fabric covering upon a fiat surface, placing a plurality of layers of filling material arranged in superimposed relation with respect to eachother upon said fabric covering, the

respective layers. of filling material being of an area smaller than the layer of fabric covering, the

portion of the fabric covering layer extending beyond the area of the layers of filling material and forming a marginal strip, placing a stretching frame upon the top of said filling material layers, said stretching framebeing formed of four side members secured together along their ends to form a substantially rectangular frame with spikes protruding inwardly of the frame from the inner side edges of said side members, pulling up the marginal strip of said fabric covering layer over said frame and engaging the strip upon said 1 spikes whereby the outer cover is tightly stretched over the layers of filling material and the frame, tufting the assembled layers while maintaining the fabric covering layers stretched, removing the frame from the tufted layers, and securing the marginal strip of the fabric covering layer to the upper portion of the filling ma-,

terial layers.

ROBERT O. GARRIGUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 654,618 Freschl July 31, 1900 1,717,378 Gail June 18, 1929 1,931,202 McRosky Oct. 17, 1933 2,192,234 Marsaek Mar. .5, 940 2,208,826 Wolf July 23, 1940 2,223,594

.Bednarek Dec. 3, 1940 

